Uzbekistan
Residency Recap
From August 5th to 20th, 2018, Hip Hop artists MeccaGodZilla (Beatmaker), Lino “Leanski” Delgado (Dancer), Bridgette “DJ Princess Cut” Jackson (DJ), Dahlak Brathwaite (MC), and site manager Mahogany Jones traveled to Tashkent and Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Next Level Team Uzbekistan offered five days of instructional workshops in Hip Hp dance, emceeing/rapping, DJing and beatmaking, as well as panels and discussions focused on personal development, conflict resolution, and entrepreneurship.
While in Tashkent, the Next Level artists participated in a number of cultural exchange activities with local musicians and artists, including a recording session with noted recording artist Shoxrux and jam sessions with Uzbek folk musicians and breakdancers from the Zlotnikov Dance Center. The Next Level artists also visited Unlimited Possibilities, a transitional home for orphaned young adults with disabilities. During the visit, the artists and residents performed for one another and shared a tea ceremony together.
The Next Level Academy’s highly engaging and well-attended final concert at the Turkiston Open Air Theater featured performances from Next Level student-collaborators and Uzbek Hip Hop artists. Next Level Team Uzbekistan is part of a larger Next Level cohort of American Hip Hop artists seeking to build global community through Hip Hop culture
